NEALE Cooper is backing his Hartlepool United side to keep their revival going when they face promotion-chasing Sheffield Wednesday this afternoon.
Pool’s draw at Exeter last weekend means they have picked up four points from their last two games and Cooper is keen to keep the momentum going.
But he admits today’s trip to Hillsborough will be a tough test for his players against the fourth-placed Owls.
He said: “We’ve got to take the positives from the last two results and build on that.
“We’re all looking forward to this game but we know it will be hard because I’ve been told they are a big, powerful side who are a threat, particularly from set-plays.
“We’ve got to try and defend higher up the park, try not to give away any daft free-kicks or give them an advantage – but also have a right good go at them too.
“The lads will need to be switched on from the word go and give nothing away in the early stages that will give their crowd a lift. But if they all give me the same kind of effort and commitment I’ve seen in the last couple of weeks then I can’t ask any more of them than that.”
Striker James Poole remains an injury doubt for Cooper ahead of today’s game. The 21-year-old has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since Boxing Day, and as a result has yet to figure since Cooper took over.
Poole has not yet been ruled out of the trip to Hillsborough, but Hartlepool’s medical staff will decide whether he is fit enough to travel.
Andy Monkhouse could return to the starting line-up after recovering from the bug that meant he was on the subs’ bench at Exeter last weekend.
Adam Boyd is also available after missing the Exeter game through illness, and Colin Nish is back in full training but is still short of match practice.
Veteran former Newcastle winger Nolberto Solano is out of Cooper’s plans at present, however, with the new manager saying Pool need graft rather than craft at present.
“Nobby is at that stage in his career where you can’t do as much physically as the other lads,” said Cooper of the 37-year-old. “But his game has never been that and at this moment in time I feel we have to graft for everything we get, and that’s not Nobby’s game.
“I’ve got a bunch of boys in there at the moment who will work really hard. If you look at the fighting spirit and work-rate in the last two games that is what we need at this moment in time.
“There’s no other reason than that, it’s just he doesn’t suit our system right now.”
